By The head of Starbucks Corp.’s
SBUX,
+1.30%
North American business is set to depart the company, as interim Chief Executive Howard Schultz reshapes the company’s executive ranks.
Starbucks said Rossann Williams will leave the company at the end of the month. Ms. Williams—who started at Starbucks as a regional vice president in 2004 and worked her way up to the executive vice president level—was at the company for more than 17 years. Over the past year, Ms. Williams has been one of the coffee giant’s point people in responding to an expanding unionization effort among baristas.
Starbucks said Ms. Williams was offered another role at the company, but she decided to depart from the chain on her own.
“The decision was not taken lightly,” Starbucks Chief Operating Officer John Culver said in a message Friday to employees about Ms. Williams’ departure, which was viewed by The Wall Street Journal. Ms. Williams didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
An expanded version of this story appears on WSJ.com.
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